"Touch me, sweetheart. Please." His voice was ragged and edgy, full of desire and longing, more of a desperate command than a request.
Her hands moved slowly, stroking his wide, strong shoulders, touching every inch of solid muscle, savoring the strength radiating from his powerful body. She traced up his spine, her hands landing on the nape of his neck. Pulling his head down, her lips traced his collarbone lightly as she speared her fingers into his hair. She moaned softly as her mouth moved over the pulse at his neck, the masculine scent of him flooding her body with carnal heat. She breathed deep, letting his fragrance consume her, his galloping pulse beneath her lips letting her know that he was as swamped in erotic need as she was.
He groaned, his massive body starting to move, his hard member finding a warm resting place between her thighs. His velvety cock slid along her tender folds, saturating itself with wet heat.
Every nerve in her body caught fire, and she opened her legs wider, silently begging him to satiate her, to satisfy the violent need that was clawing at her relentlessly.
Suddenly, he reared up, making her whimper as he deprived her of his heat. Reaching for the hem of her short nightie, he pulled it over her head, tossing it onto the floor beside the bed. "Nothing between us," he growled as he lowered himself over her again.
She hissed as his fiery-hot body met hers from breast to groin, savoring the sensation of being skin-to-skin.
"Mine. You're mine. Say it." The demand exploded from him as though he couldn't help himself.
Dominant Simon had returned with a vengeance, and Kara shuddered. He did love control, and that had nothing to do with his past. That was simply, utterly, completely...Simon.
His hand snaked between their bodies, positioning the blunt, silky head of his cock against her tight opening, starting to enter her oh-so-slowly.
"Say it." His tone grew more demanding, more possessive.
Oh God, how she relished his dominance, his strength. "I'm yours. I need you."
He rewarded her by filling her with one smooth stroke, burying his cock completely to the root. The carnality of the action nearly made her climax.
"Fuck! You feel so good." He pulled out slightly and buried himself again, rolling his hips, making her take every inch of him. "I'm not sure I know how to make love. I only know how to fuck."
She clutched his shoulders, trying to find her balance, her sanity. "I'm not sure I do either. I guess we'll learn together," she told him breathlessly.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, needing to get closer. A low choked, reverberating sound came from his throat as he pulled back and sank into her again. And again.
His head swooped down, capturing her distressed whimper, his mouth seeking, his tongue conquering. Every touch of his tongue, every thrust of his cock was a branding, a claiming. And she could do little else but surrender.
Tearing his mouth from hers so they could both take a much-needed breath, his hips continued to piston into her, as he rasped, "Mine!"
His teeth nipped at her neck, making her shudder with primal desire. Hips lifting, meeting every furious pump of his hips, Kara moaned as her fingers left his hair, sliding lower, clenching at his back. Her short fingernails dug into his flesh as he changed angles, never slowing his heated, frantic pace.
Just when she was ready to scream with frustrated need, he started to grind his groin mercilessly against hers with every deep penetration of his cock, stimulating her sensitive clit. A scream ripped from her throat as she shattered. He swallowed it with his mouth, his groan vibrating in her mouth as her channel pulsated around his silken cock.
He panted harshly as his mouth moved to her shoulder. "Nothing better than feeling you come around me." He buried his shaft deep, connecting their bodies tightly, fusing them together.
Still quivering from her explosive climax, she felt his muscles tighten and his big body tremble as he flooded her womb with scorching heat.
I love you.
Her eyes moist, she tightened her arms around him, never wanting to let go. Emotion welled up inside her, ruthlessly fighting to be freed. She choked it back with an audible gasp, grappling with the overwhelming need to say those words aloud.
"You okay?" he questioned breathlessly and with gruff concern.
He rolled to one side and she mourned the loss as she loosened her hold on him, reluctantly allowing him to rest beside her. "I'm fine." He had obviously thought he was crushing her. Like she was a delicate flower? She was taller than some men, in her bare feet. Simon was the only one who could make her actually feel petite.
She sighed as he hoisted her easily into his arms, pulling her against his side as he tucked the covers over their entangled bodies. She burrowed into him, her head on his shoulder and one arm flung over his mammoth chest. His muscular arm pulled her closer with a firm grasp around her waist.
"We made love," he grumbled, his voice weary.
Smiling slightly at his disgruntled announcement, she simply answered, "Yes."
Making love wasn't about the mechanics, it was all about emotion, although she had to admit that he was pretty damn incredible with the mechanical portion of the act. It didn't matter how they touched or in what way they came together; it was the emotion and the intensity of the experience that got her. The truth was, the sex tonight had been no different than anything that had happened between them before. It had been just as explosive, just as emotional, and just as earth-shattering. The man rocked her entire world every single time. And it was never indifferent or detached. It had been wild, passionate, intense love-making every single time. At least, for her it had been.
I wish he could trust me.
The deep, steady cadence of his breathing told her that he slept.
Small steps.
Simon didn't sleep with anyone, didn't allow himself to be in the same bed with another person when he was vulnerable. The fact that he was sleeping with her plastered against him was bigger than a step; it was more like a huge stride.
Moving a little to get comfortable, her heart flipped over when he grumbled an incoherent protest and yanked her back against him.
Yep. They would need to have a talk about his trust issues tomorrow. She needed to know something about what happened to him, why he had reacted the way he had earlier. It wasn't possible to combat a ghost she couldn't see, couldn't understand.
Never again did she want to see Simon in the grip of panic, lost in an unknown fear. His vulnerability had nearly ripped her heart out.
A fierce protective instinct flowed over her as her eyes fluttered closed, completely spent and exhausted.
He'll dodge and be evasive. He won't want to talk about it.
If he wasn't ready...well...she'd wait until he trusted her enough to discuss it.
Satisfied that things would work out fine, she yawned against Simon's shoulder until her breathing matched his, deep and even, and fell into a dreamless, contented sleep.
Chapter 3
Three days later, Simon scrawled his signature on the last of a stack of mile-high documents that his secretary had dropped on his desk earlier that morning. Slamming the gold pen on the top of the pile with more force than was necessary, he leaned back in his enormous leather chair with a frustrated sigh, wondering how many more days he could take of the tension between himself and Kara.
No sex. No touching. No waking up in the morning with her delectable body wrapped around mine like a silken blanket.
God, that morning three days ago had started off as the best morning of his life.
Unfortunately, what happened at breakfast also had it ranking right up there with one of the worst.
She had wanted to talk about the night before.
He didn't.
Oh, he had been more than willing to talk about and repeat what had happened after his freak-out. The actual panic attack?...not so much.
Raking his hand through his hair, he leaned back and tried to relax his body, admitting to himself that the distance between the two of them really wasn't really her fault. Much. She had taken his unwillingness to discuss it gracefully, giving him one of her sweet smiles and telling him that she would wait until he was ready. But then...just when he was thinking she might end up waiting until she was old and gray before he wanted to discuss it...she dropped the bomb.
I can't make love with you, Simon. Not until you trust me enough to tell me what happened. I just can't.
Then, after turning his world upside down with that comment, she had kissed him on the forehead like he was child, wished him a good day, and sashayed her sweet little ass out the door. And she had done it all with a smile. What. The. Hell.